When the Wind Blows (1986)
★★½ — When the Wind Blows (1986)
Raymond Briggs adapted his own 1982 graphic novel for this animated feature, having already seen his earlier work The Snowman turned into a beloved short just four years prior. The film was directed by Jimmy T. Murakami, an American-born animator of Japanese descent perhaps best known for the Roger Corman-produced Battle Beyond the Stars (1980), and it sits squarely in the anxious mid-1980s moment when CND marches and the Threads television broadcast had put nuclear dread back at the centre of British public life. Produced with backing from Penguin Books (Briggs' own publisher) and British Screen Productions, it arrived with a score from Roger Waters and voice performances from John Mills and Peggy Ashcroft, lending the modest production a distinctly prestigious air.
When the Wind Blows (1986) is a technically accomplished piece of British animation. Raymond Briggs' watercolour aesthetic translated faithfully to screen, with soft, melancholic visuals that contrast cruelly with the subject matter. An elderly couple bumble through the lead-up to and aftermath of a nuclear strike, clinging to government pamphlets and stiff-upper-lip optimism as the world collapses around them. The animation is indeed lovely; the intent (to critique Cold War complacency through tragic naivety) is clear. But good intentions don't always make for good viewing. Jim and Hilda's relentless, almost wilful ignorance grows grating over the film's 80-minute runtime. Their refusal to grasp the severity of their situation (building a flimsy shelter, worrying about tea while radiation sickness sets in) feels less poignant and more infuriating as the minutes drag. Where The War Game (1965) delivers its nuclear horror with brutal, efficient precision, this lingers on helplessness until empathy curdles into impatience. It could (and arguably should) have been half the length. A well-meaning, visually distinctive film whose emotional impact is undermined by pacing and protagonists whose innocence tips into exasperation. Admirable as a historical artefact of 1980s nuclear anxiety, but a slog to sit through.
Rating: ★★½ | Year: 1986 | Watched: 2026-03-29
Where to watch (UK)
Rent: Amazon Video
Buy: Amazon Video
Physical: Amazon UK
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Where to watch (UK)
Rent: Amazon Video
Buy: Amazon Video
Physical: Amazon UK
Affiliate disclosure: Movies With Macca may earn a small commission on purchases or subscriptions started via these links. It costs you nothing extra.
Related on Movies With Macca
More from United Kingdom: Lessons of Darkness (1992) · Shinjuku Boys (1995) · The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) · Blue (1993)
More from the 1980s: Nightmare City (1980) · A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Style Wars (1983) · Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers (1980)
More animation: Fantastic Planet (1973) · Alice in Wonderland (1951) · Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain (2024) · Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II - The Ashes of Rage (2025)
More war: Lessons of Darkness (1992) · The General (1926) · Men Without Wings (1946) · Fires Were Started (1943)
